The eta aquarids meteor shower peaks overnight May 5-6, reaching its best viewing window before dawn on May 6 even as a bright waning gibbous moon hangs in the sky. The moonlight will wash out some of the fainter meteors, but the shower remains active through May 28.
Bill Cooke, who leads NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office, said the shower is a strong one and can produce up to about 50 shooting stars an hour in a clear sky. The meteors race across the sky at about 41 miles per second, and observers north of the equator can still expect roughly 10 to 30 meteors an hour at the peak.
The shower is tied to debris left by Halley's Comet and is most rewarding for viewers in the Southern Hemisphere or near the equator. People in some northern latitudes can see it too, with the meteors appearing to come from the direction of Aquarius while still streaking across much of the night sky.
That means the best plan is simple: step outside well before dawn, give your eyes at least 30 minutes to adjust to the dark and skip the binoculars. The brighter moon will make the faintest streaks harder to catch, but the Eta Aquarids are still one of the year's more prolific shows in the south, and this peak delivers the chance to see them at their best.